Carnival Glory Review May 1, 2011

[bballgurl8]

Ello! My family and I sailed the Carnival Glory on May 1 to the Western Caribbean. This was our second cruise but first on Carnival. Our first cruise was to the Eastern Caribbean on the Emerald Princess. We were a party of 6 and had two newbies. We had 2 Ocean View staterooms.

PreCruise:

We are from Vancouver, BC but fly from Seattle to save on airfare. We left April 29th on the redeye to our stop over in Cincinatti and arrived Saturday morning in Miami. After arriving we picked up our rental car from Alamo. Had no problems with them and they even have a free shuttle to the port of Miami.

We stayed at the Hilton Blue Lagoon; they have a beautiful property. They have rental equipment such as paddle boats to use in the lagoon and also have a very big pool. Overall, we had no problems at this hotel and the staff was also very courteous.

On embarkation day, we dropped off the luggage and also some of our party at the port at about 11. My dad returned the rental car to the airport and took the Alamo/National shuttle back to the Port of Miami.

 

Embarkation Day:

When our whole party arrived we went through security without any problem and headed to check in. We were given group number 17 and were still required to wait. I remember last year on Princess we had come around noon and had no lines or wait and just went straight onto the ship after all the check in requirements. But soon enough we were on board. =D However, I didn't like how other passengers were crowded around the elevators and it made it difficult to get to them when your number was called.

We headed for the buffet and explored the ship for a bit and headed to our rooms. We headed back to our rooms before the muster drill to settle down for a bit to rest ourselves because of our full stomachs... hehee

The muster drill was held on an outside deck. Meaning it was super hot and very stuffy with all the passengers being so close together. On Princess, the muster drill was held inside in the air conditioned areas =). Anyways, after the muster we headed to the top decks for sailaway. My dad and I took our first jumping pic to show how happy we were to be on a cruise.. hehe..

 

Dining:

We had dinner in the dining room every night. I find that Carnival is a lot more laid back than Princess in the dining room attire. I always felt a little bit overdressed for dinner. We had early seating in the Golden Restaurant. Our waitress was Anthika and her helpers were Luis and Setyawan(sp?). Anyways they were wonderful and they always had a smile on their faces. The food was also good however not as much selection in the buffet as does Princess.

 

Ports:

Cozumel - We had previously arranged a tour package with Discover Mexico and Chankanaab Park. We took a taxi to Discover Mexico and it cost $16USD for 6 ppl to Chankanaab. I feel we should have paid cheaper because this was much closer than Chankanaab but they charged us the Chankanaab rate. We arrived at Discover Mexico and they safely locked our belongings and we began the tour. It started with a video about Mexican History and then were led into the Museum by our tour guide, Carlos. After the Museum, you are led back outside where you get a photo op with a parrot and an iguana. Then we were guided through all the replicas of all the Mexican landmarks. It was really cool how all of them were to scale. I felt like we got to learn a lot about Mexico without visiting all those places. Our guide was very friendly and the tour was very informative. If you are into the historical aspect and informational tours, then I would definitely recommend Discover Mexico. After this tour, we were provided transportation to Chankanaab Park because it was included in our package. Chankanaab was beautiful. We went snorkeling and they provide mandatory life jackets for the snorkeling area. You can also do the dolphin stuff or just chill on the beach. It was a very relaxing beach day. After we took a taxi back to the port. I advise everyone to double check the price you are paying. The price went up in the afternoon. My dad handed the driver a 20 but he said it wasn't enough. We were sort of confused because we thought he wanted a bigger tip. The driver told us that the rate is 22USD and even showed us the sign. My dad gave the driver more money but it was a bit frustrating that they changed the Taxi Rate Sign. If they were smart enough to do that you would think that they would be smart enough to keep the colours the same. In the morning the sign was white and when we came back the sign was green. I just find this very sneaky but overall we had a great time in Cozumel.

Belize - Tender port. Took a tender and walked through the black doors to find our tour. We had booked an Altun Ha excursion with X-Stream Tours. We found them and were led to their waiting area. Once the entire party for that tour arrived, we boarded an air conditioned bus and made our way to Altun Ha. Our guide was Manuel(if I remember correctly =P), he was funny and made the tour very enjoyable. The road can be a bit bumpy at times but not anything to worry about. Altun Ha was good and after we headed back to the cruise port. We were given bottled water on the tour and were fed lunch after the tour. The food was good, no complaints. I had an unBELIZEable time. =P

Roatan, Honduras - This was by far the best stop on the cruise. We booked with Victor Bodden and I highly recommend this tour company. We had a private van and tour guide costing only $25 per person. And this tour is what you make of it. You're the boss and it can be how ever long or short you want it to be. Our guide was Olan and he took us on a scenic drive around the island. My cousin and I had wanted to go ziplining, so he brought us to what he thought was the best one on the island. The rest of our party wasn't set on zip lining so Olan suggested that he drop us off and bring the rest to the beach and he would come back for the zipliners. It worked perfectly for everyone. He took us to South Shore Canopy Tours and I would highly recommend them. It costs $45 extra and it is well worth every single penny. This was the first time I had ever ziplined and although I was scared; I enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to go again. The tour was about an hour and a half long. The guides were very entertaining and I felt very safe. Afterwards, we were able to hold the monkeys and by this time Olan was already waiting for us. We headed to a resort and a had a great time. After the beach we were hungry, so Olan suggested a local place with good food and affordable prices. And I must say it was good=9, I think the place was called Bertie's.. something along that line. But just ask your tour guides and they will definitely bring you somewhere that is good. By the time we had finished eating it was time to head back to ship. We said our goodbyes to Olan and made our way through the cruise center. I highly recommend Victor Bodden tours =).

Grand Cayman - All I can say is this was a beach day.. =D

 

Service:

Service was adequate, workers were all friendly. Our steward was Fernando and his helper was Richard. I can say that I was satisfied with the service.

 

Entertainment:

Shows were great. 'Take Two' singers in the Colors lobby were always a delight to listen to; they were awesome. I must also say beware of the "YooHoo" photographer, he never failed to put a smile on my face. Even when he wasn't around, I would still hear YooHoos from other passengers. He made waiting for the gangway to open very enjoyable. He would promote his "magic water" in his high pitch voice. Very funny.

 

Overall:

I had a good cruise experience but I must say that I enjoy Princess better. The selection of food in the buffet is much greater on Princess. The food was also better on Princess. I wished Carnival had something like the International Cafe =9. Also the service is of higher quality as well. I am not shutting out Carnival completely because this cruise was enjoyable. However, I always found myself comparing it to Princess and how they did it better. I guess if your looking for a more laidback and very family friendly atmosphere; Carnival is the way to go since they are the FUN ships =)

Oh, we also stayed in Miami for two days after the cruise. We rented a car from National and they have a shared free shuttle with Alamo from the Port of Miami to the Airport as along as you have a car reservation. They can't be missed as you exit the cruise terminal.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Thanks for the review and thanks for the comparison. Its good to see contrast in reviews.

 

Hopefully no one will come in here and beat you up over it.

[bballgurl8]

Thanks for the review and thanks for the comparison. Its good to see contrast in reviews.

 

Hopefully no one will come in here and beat you up over it.

 

hehe thanks for the support.. it all depends on your personal preferences right?

[dixieva]

What type of room did you have and how did you like it?

[bballgurl8]

What type of room did you have and how did you like it?

 

We had an ocean view between 4 of us. So there was an upper. The room was sufficient but i found the entryway to the room was a bit tight. If someone would have opened a cabinet door; you wouldn't be able to get out of the bathroom. I did like how the room had a couch but that was used as a bed anyways. :P To be honest, I preferred the layout on our first cruise on the emerald princess. For that cruise we had two oceanview rooms with two people each. I liked that the closet and bathroom space on Princess was separated from the bed space. I guess our room on carnival would have felt less crowded if we didnt have four adults in it hehee

[dixieva]

Thanks!

[westview1]

We had an ocean view between 4 of us. So there was an upper. The room was sufficient but i found the entryway to the room was a bit tight. If someone would have opened a cabinet door; you wouldn't be able to get out of the bathroom. I did like how the room had a couch but that was used as a bed anyways. :P To be honest, I preferred the layout on our first cruise on the emerald princess. For that cruise we had two oceanview rooms with two people each. I liked that the closet and bathroom space on Princess was separated from the bed space. I guess our room on carnival would have felt less crowded if we didnt have four adults in it hehee

 

Agree with you on the closet space. I've been on Caribbean Princess and thought the layout with the closet worked much better and didn't seem as cramped as the Carnival ships I've been on.

 

Thanks for the balanced review.

[pkrchkr]

We were on the Glory in feb 2011, glad to see yooowhoo is still around..he is halarious..We got a fantastic family photo.. printed the waver and then had it put on canvass for M&D's 50 anniversary..I hope yoowhoo sticks around he is excellent!!!